Sandpaper box build questions?

[Philip Florio]

I'm going to make a box about 15"x15"x15" that I will mount to a wall. I'm going to have a slight angle on the 6 to 8 shelves for the paper.

My questions are about the material and the joinery. I'm figuring on using 1/2" or 3/4" plywood for the back to mount to the wall. The sides, bottom and top will be 1/2" MDF. The shelves will be 1/4" hardboard.

On the sides I will add some pockets for my circular orbital sander sheets, 5" sheets and some pockets for sanding pads. On the top I will mount a hacksaw blade to cut the sheets.

I'm thinking of just simple rabbet joints. I'll use a dado for the MDF sides to accommodate the 1/4" hardboard.

Is it true that MDF can dull cutting tools faster?

Thanks,
Phil

[Paul Atkins]

Would you use your sharp hand plane on MDF? - and why not. The stuff has all sorts of junk in it including hard glue. It's not very strong compared to plywood for dados and rabbets too. I try to avoid using it, but sometimes you just have to. I think I got sensitized to it also when I worked in a cabinet shop that used a unit of it a week.

[glenn bradley]

The stuff has all sorts of junk in it including hard glue.

Thanks goodness there's none of that nasty glue in plywood :). Just goofin' on ya.

MDF is powdered material and resin (glue). It is more abrasive than most woods although anyone who has just finished an ipe project might argue that ;).

For shop cabinets and such as you are making I use it. Good MDF is consistent in thickness which is nice. I don't hesitate to use most cutters on it but I run $5 Woodcraft router bits as opposed to my Freud dado stack for dados. I can toss a few router bits for what one sharpening on the dado stack costs :D.